DARK MATTER

This is the first IQ album that I have listened to. It is really a "Dark Matter" album, with lyrics about loneliness. Loneliness is a theme present in all the songs. Introspection, nostalgia, even depression. I don`t know if this album is really a "concept album", but the mood of the lyrics is "dark", with the singer always singing lines in first person. Musically, I think that there are several very good moments. The members of the band are really very good musicians. There are some influences from old Prog bands like Marillion (with Fish), Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd. Sometimes the music and the arrangements are so good that I wish that the lyrics were about other topics. There are sounds from old keyboards like analogic synthesizers and mellotrons. I don`t know if these sounds were created with modern digital keyboards using sound samples from those old instruments. The best songs in this album are "Sacred Ground" and "Harvest of Souls". The majestic long piece "Harvest of Souls" has some critical comments about the U.S. international politics. I was surprised to hear an English band criticizing the U.S. politics! Intelligent lyrics, in my opinion, and I did my interpretation about the lyrics in this song in particular. Listen to this album, read the lyrics, and take your own conclusions!